Shoe polishing guard



Jan. 9, 1940. F. c. SHEARING 2,186,348

- SHOE POLISHING GUARD Filed Dec. 17, 1938 IN V EN TOR. v Eaggvcm 6fizzle/1V6 ATTORNE5% Patentecl Jalii- 1,940: l I

11 i snort POLISHING GUARD ,f Francis Shearing, i im m, Calif.

terial is designed to yieldingly enga e .with the leg to protect thehose The device. extends 'a slight'dis tance' dcwn'into the shoe and inthis way the device is held "in place. Theguard has an integral ribthatpracti'callyencircles the top of-tlie device. ribperforms, two functionsin that it not only yieldingly holds the device in place, but it alsoprevents the polishing cloth from riding up over the device and onto-thestocking. A further object of my invention is to provide a device of thetype described, that is extremely simple in construction and ,isdurableand effi c ient for the purpose intended.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel fea tures of the device will be particularlypointed out inthe appended claims. I I V Y My invention is illustrated in theacccompanying drawing forming a part'of this application, in whichFigure l is a perspective View of a shoe, showing my device operativelyapplied thereto; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through the device taken along theline 33 of Figure 4 and illustrates the position occupied by the devicewith'respect to a foot and shoe; and

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the device. g

In carrying out my inventioml provide a shoe' polishing guard,preferably made from a molded material such as rubber. Theguar-d issubstantially oval in shape and has an inner wall i, see Figure 4,designed to conformto the portion of the leg immediately adjacent to theshoe top.

The guard is split and 'hastwo flaps 2 and 3 I These fiapsyare 1 longenough to permit the guard to be contracted that 'slida'bly overlie eachother.

or expanded to fit various sized legs.

In Figures 2 and 3, I show the upper .outer'side oi'the guard providedwith an integral rib 4 that encircles the guard except forthe smallportions constituting the flaps 2' and 3;

ends Aaterminating at the flaps to permit them' to slidably overlie eachother. Figure 2 shows how the outer flap-2 is cut away along its upperedge 5 to underlie the adjacent end of the rib 4." The rib has a curvedunderside 4b that'merges The rib t has its I I 'ished,- the'device maybe readily removed without I the/necessity of unfastening any securingmem 17,1938;erial:No. 246,384 I (class -40)) I p :into the body portionS of theguard. The body 6 -has depending flap integral therewith andadapt'eclto extendd'own inside a shoe 8 for a 'slightfldisftancesufficient for theshoe to grip the nap and aid the rib in holdingthedevice in place. Ashoulder d is formed at'thefljur icture-betweenthebody'dand the flap'l'and shoulder rests.

upon the upperedgeftaof thefshoei The flap 1 varies in lengthaccording'to the portion. of the leg or foot it covers. For "example',the flap-is The guard has" recess'es'fl ill'on each side designed toaccommodate the ankle bone of "he",wearer.' I have found that aroughening of I the inner surface ll of the body 6 will cause the bodyto frictionally engagewith the hose and, aid

in holding it in position. The roughened. inner surface may extend fromthe I topf'of the guard to the'bottorn or it may extend over only asmaller area of the device.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, theoperation thereoimay be readily understood.

When applying the device to a leg l2, the deviceis opened along theflaps 2 and 3 to receive the leg and-then the guard is allowed to returnm to itsnormal position. ,The 'rib 4. is resili'ent enough to cause thedevice to snugly grip" the leg. The device is manually moved downwardlyin shoe. The flaps 2 and3 overlap each other for" a slig ht distance andthis'will assure protection for the hose around the entire leg. o,

The shoe may 'now be polished intheordinary 1o 1 iongerfat the front ofthe device'shown at'la i and this portion underlies the tong-ue'fandfront of the shoe.

order to cause the flap 1 to: enter the shoe until v theshoulden 9 abutsthe upper edge 8a of the manner and. the device will r'eceiveany polishthatis accidentallyapplied at a point higher than the'top, of the shoe.When a cloth used for polishing the shoe, the rib 4 will act as a stopto prevent the cloth from moving" up overthe top. of the guard'a'nd ontothe "stocking fwhen the cloth is being manipulated forpolishing thetop;

of the shoe}, In this .way, the-guard performs 'a double function ofclamping the devicejto a leg and acting as a'guide iorthe cloth. The ribis especially useful when the clothis used'for polishing the back of theshoeq'fI'l'ieshapel of the ar-.1; of the shoe causes the cloth tosup'upw rdly' and the rib prevents this. After the shoe is polper-5.;The device'is preferably made of one piece 30f v material which ismolded in the manner shown. .WhileI haveshown onlythe preferred formcircle the leg at a point adjacent to the top of a shoe, said materialbeing split in order to receive the leg and having overlapping flapspositioned at the split, the upper edge of the guard having an integralrib that causes the guard to snugly engage with the leg, said rib alsoacting as a;

guide for a polishing cloth for preventing the cloth from touching thestocking, a circumferen tial flap extending around the bottom of, theguard and forming a shoulder at its joinder with the main body of theguard, said shoulder being adapted to rest on the upper edge of the shoeand determine the depth at which the guard enters,

the shoe. 2. Ashoe polishing guard comprising a single molded piece ofresilient material designed to encircle the leg at a point adjacent tothe top of' a shoe, said, material being split in order to receive theleg and having overlapping flaps positioned at the split, the upper edgeof the guard having an integral rib that causes the guard tosnuglyengage with the leg, said rib also acting as a guide for a polishingcloth for preventing the cloth from touching the stocking, acircumferential flap extending around the bottom of the guard andforming a shoulder at its joinder with the main body of the guard, saidshoulder being adapted to rest on the upper edge of the shoe anddetermine the depth at which the guard enters the shoe, the interiorsurface of the guard being roughened for causing the guard to moreeffectively grip the leg.

3. A one piece shoe polishing guard designed to encircle the leg andhaving an integral rib for causing the guard to yieldingly and snuglyengage with the leg, said rib projecting beyond the outer surface of theguard and cooperating therewith to form a guide for a polishing clothfor preventing the cloth from contacting with the stockmg. v

4. A one piece shoe polishing guard made from resilient-material anddesigned to encircle the leg, an integral rib for aiding in causing theguard to grip the leg and also acting as a polishing cloth guide, saidguard having a shoulder designed to contact with the upper edge of theshoe and to space the rib the desired distance thereabove, and a flapdependingirom the shoulder for entering the shoe and aiding in holdingthe guard in place as well as protecting the stocking.

5'. A shoe polishing guard comprising a sleevelike member made ofresilient material and designed to encircle the leg, the ends of themember Overlapping each other, an integral rib disposed at the top ofthemember, a shoulder for engaging. with the shoe top for spacing therib thereabove, and a flap dependingfrom the shoulder and designed toenter the shoe.

, FRANCIS C. SHEARING.

